2. Summits and other follow-up meetings As already mentioned, the Helsinki Final Act provided for regular follow-up conferences, reflecting the understanding that a continuous dialogue is needed to make the agreement effective. This process approach has, over time, created a refined system of political summits and other conferences where the implementation of OSCE commitments is discussed.* This complex structure of summits, meetings, conferences, and seminars generates two important effects. First, it enables the participating States to embark on a dynamic norm-creating process. The participating States can react quickly to new needs and build on previous OSCE commitments to specify their application. Second, it provides a forum for discussing the actual implementation of human dimension commitments by OSCE participating States. This reflects the principle that compliance with OSCE commitments is a subject of direct and legitimate concern for all OSCE participating States and does not belong to the internal affairs of any particular State. An important feature of OSCE human dimension meetings is that they are open to the active participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Thus, NGOs can and do participate in addressing concerns about the actual implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments and make suggestions on how to solve problems. 3. The human dimension mechanism In addition to these regular meetings, the OSCE has also created a so-called human dimension mechanism, in the Vienna Mechanism** and the Moscow Mechanism,*** the latter partly constituting a further elaboration of the Vienna Mechanism. Together, they set out a process for supervising the implementation of human dimension commitments to be invoked on an ad hoc basis by any individual OSCE participating State. The Vienna Mechanism allows a participating State, through a set of procedures, to raise questions relating to the human dimension in another OSCE participating State. The Moscow Mechanism builds on this and provides for the additional possibility to establish ad hoc missions of independent experts to assist in the resolution of a specific human dimension problem. This includes the right to investigate alleged violations of human dimension commitments, even, in exceptional circumstances, without the consent of the accused state. *  OSCE summits and Ministerial Council meetings usually adopt new declarations and documents. Review conferences precede OSCE summits and discuss the compliance with OSCE standards and prepare the final document to be adopted at the subsequent summit. OSCE human dimension implementation meetings take place in years when no OSCE summit is scheduled and provide the forum for discussing the implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments. In addition, a human dimension seminar and three supplementary human dimension meetings are organized every year. For more information, see the ODIHR website at www.osce.org/odihr. **  As established in the Vienna Concluding Document of 1989. ***  The Moscow Mechanism was agreed upon at the last meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE in Moscow (1991). xx